It's ha-ha-hard being a teenager, particularly if you're Jas Callihan, all of 17, half-Jamaican half-Irish, with a height to rival King Kong's and a nonexistent chest. In author Michele Jaffe's hands, nothing could be more hysterical than the gaffes of adolescence.
And if it isn't bad enough coping with her stick-insect body, Jas finds herself on holiday in Las Vegas with a father who disapproves pretty much of everything she does; a 25-year-old stepmother who works as a body-double in Hollywood; and a bubblegum-chewing cousin called Alyson who is pure evil in teenage form. No wonder Jas calls it the annual "End-of-Summer-I-Know!-Let's-Torture-Jas-by-Making-Her- Leave-All-Her-Precious-Pals-and-Spend-Time-With-Her-FamilyVacation."
Things are about to get worse (because wouldn't we be bored reading only about adolescent angst?). A three-legged cat digs her claws into Jas, and what ensues is a long and wildly funny story best read on your own. Let it suffice to say that Jas stumbles upon a crazy criminal plot involving a Hollywood star called Fiona Bristol; her 8-year-old son, Fred; a muscle-head who talks like Arnold Schwarzenegger; and a dreamboat called Jack whose behavior is highly suspect. When Jas isn't dodging attempts on her life, or extricating her foot from her mouth, she's trying to stop herself from falling in love with the bad guy.